Video Post

Here is a short video showing our home office set-up. I have been standing up at my office desk for a few years now and have found it to be very beneficial for my back. Standing at our desk allows us to avoid sitting for a large portion of the day, which has been proven to be more helpful for leg and back health, as well as keeping your hips and leg joints from getting sore and tight.

Our desk is a re-purposed change table that my father made for us, with an adaptation from cheryl’s dad (we’re so appreciative to have fathers who are skilled craftsmen!). Standing also makes it easier to transition from computer work to other activities around the house, and keeps the kids from being tempted to play around on the computer/keyboard (a serious consideration with young children around).

For more information, take a look at our previous post on this subject.

It begins with shopping places that have lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Farmers markets, local grocery stores, and even community gardens are great sources. Loading up on greens will ensure that a majority of your diet is healthy and you will be more able to get all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy.

If you go to a grocery store regularly, try to shop the outer aisles (where the fresh stuff is) first. Avoid processed foods as much as is possible and buy things with the least amount of ingredients necessary.

We don’t meal plan often, but I do have a few simple, standard meals that I often prepare. We eat 95% of our meals at home, so we are better able to control the quality and type of ingredients that we are eating.

It isn’t about eating “perfectly”, but focusing on whole, natural foods.

In this minimalist toddler closet tour, you’ll get a look into our two-year-old son’s closet. His wardrobe is relatively limited, and this amount of clothing works well for us to be able to give him enough outfits, as well as not be bombarded by laundry. We also have a bookshelf with a few books and toys on it that he can easily access as well as clean up by himself. Keeping a simple closet can be a challenge with children, but play around with different configurations to see what works best for you. Let us know in the comments any tips you’ll incorporate into your closets, as well as something different that you might do.

Have you ever been in a situation that dragged you down and left you feeling heavy? We’ve all had those and it’s usually difficult to shake off the bad feelings. In the following video, I describe a small strategy that will show you how to lift your mood.

I like to call this strategy the human helium balloon. We all know how light a helium balloon is and you’ll use this mental image to make yourself feel lighter. This strategy combines effective breathing and visualization and much more since it uses your other senses.

After filming my video on mindful eating, I wanted to take one day to film or photograph all of the food I ate in an effort to be more mindful. I also ate all of my meals and snacks sitting at our kitchen table, where we eat a majority of our meals.

As you can see, eating mindfully doesn’t mean eating in solitude. My family was around for most of the meals (and my son was there for the meals I didn’t post video of) and we enjoyed conversation and time connecting together. Eating with other people can definitely be a practice in mindfulness if conscious attention is being paid to your food and the sensations that are connected with it.

Do you practice any aspects of mindful eating? Share with me what you do, when you eat or things that you’d like to change to be more mindful. It is a process for me to be aware of the food I’m eating and to stay connected to the experience.

“I don’t have the time” is an excuse we’ve all used for why we don’t exercise. It is true that it can be difficult to take the recommended 30-60 minutes each day to dedicate to exercise. Fortunately, studies* show that even 10 minutes of exercise a day is enough to reap the benefits, such as a reduced risk of heart attack, diabetes and lower stress levels. So try this quick tip to incorporate exercise seamlessly into your day: Write a variety of exercises on pieces of paper (some sample exercises will be at the end, but hundreds can be found by searching “bodyweight exercises”) and place them in a jar. At various times throughout the day, reach into the jar and pull out an exercise. Aim to perform each exercise for either a set number of repetitions (10-20) or for 60 seconds, time well spent improving your health. Make time to incorporate exercise into your daily life and not only will your body reap the benefits, the endorphins released during activity will improve your mood.

In this video, we share with you a simple and yet very powerful technique. It has the potential to change your perspective, the way you look at every situation and how you feel about your circumstances.

Here’s a quick overview of the closet that JF and I share. We try to keep a fairly simple wardrobe, keeping pieces that we enjoy and wear on a regular basis. There’s no “right amount” of clothing, that is a personal choice based on your own preferences, space limitations, and lifestyle. We try to donate/repurpose anything worn out or that doesn’t fit anymore, as well as pieces that no longer fit our stage of life or circumstances (i.e. a maternity top when I am no longer pregnant). I don’t go into detail of all my clothing but what you see includes all of my workout/exercise clothing, and all of my more “regular” clothing, excluding undergarments and pyjamas – the same goes for JF’s side of the closet. Here are my 3 tips for how to keep your wardrobe simple and enjoy a tidier closet in the process!

Kitchens are one of the busiest rooms in the home and as such, can also become the most cluttered and chaotic. I’ve been trying out things to help keep it clean and simple, so here I share with you my 5 tips to keep a simple kitchen.

1. Clear the fridge. By removing almost everything from the surface of the fridge, it makes a much cleaner kitchen, both in the look of it and the actual surface. Eliminating cards, pictures, and calendars from the fridge can by done by hanging them somewhere else. For me, I chose to look inside the cupboards and that is where I place anything I need quick visual access to. You’re likely opening many cupboards frequently enough that it can also be a great place to put artwork or anything else that makes you smile.